The New York City multifamily market had a sluggish start in 2017, with January building and dollar volume falling sharply, 55% and 73%, respectively, from December 2016. Transaction volume, however, held steady, indicating the drop-off was caused by a surge in large, institutional-caliber portfolio sales at the end of last year.

The trailing six-month dollar and transaction volume averages, $935M and 43 transactions, showed decline, maintaining a trend that started during the second half of 2016. But property values continue to reach record levels, with price per SF and price per unit displaying modest gains.

In January, NYC had 45 transactions encompassing 64 buildings totaling $560.5M in gross consideration. The Ariel Property Advisors team broke this down by submarket and provided the details on the most notable deals in each area.

Manhattan

Manhattan’s dollar volume fell significantly below December’s figures, registering a comparably paltry $159M across 13 transactions. One notable transaction occurred in the East Village, where a 28-unit walk-up building at 114-116 East Seventh St. sold for $13.8M, or $684/SF.

Another noteworthy sale took place in Hell’s Kitchen, where a 12-unit, walk-up mixed-use building at 328-330 West 46th St. was purchased for $12.5M at a reported cap rate of 3.57%, translating to $1,400/SF and $1M/unit.

Northern Manhattan

Northern Manhattan recorded $61.7M in dollar volume across six sales in January, representing declines of 89% and 45%, respectively, compared to December. Despite the marked drop-off from a particularly active December, several significant transactions occurred in January.

In East Harlem, a 45-unit elevator building at 109 East 102nd St. sold for $14.7M, or $488/SF. Another noteworthy trade happened in Inwood at 48 Post Ave., where the 29-unit walk-up building was acquired for $5.8M, which was $261/SF or $201K/unit.

Brooklyn

Brooklyn had $250M in multifamily sales with 12 transactions spanning 22 properties in January, a 15% decline from December’s $294.7M dollar volume. In Sheepshead Bay, a 135-unit elevator building at 1245 Ave. X traded for $37M, at $297/SF or $274K/unit. In Bedford-Stuyvesant, the 21-unit mixed-use walk-up building at 1449 Fulton St. sold for $7.9M, or $416/SF.

The Bronx

The Bronx bucked the January trend, with dollar volume almost unchanged. It had eight transactions totaling $49M in gross consideration. One significant sale took place in Highbridge, where two 94-unit, mixed-use walk-up buildings at 65 Jesup Place and 1465 Jesup Ave. traded for $14.5M, representing $181/SF and $154K/unit. In Melrose, at 271 East 150th St., a 20-unit mixed-use walk-up building sold for $2.7M, translating to $259/SF and $137K/unit.

Queens

Dollar volume in Queens decreased 85% from December — a month marked by several large institutional-caliber transactions — to $40.8M. In Sunnyside, a 16-unit mixed-use walk-up building at 41-52 49th St. was purchased for $4.6M or $517/SF. In Ridgewood, a six-unit walk-up building at 10-18 Cypress Ave. sold for $1.9M, representing $362/SF and $317K/unit.

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